Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to techniques for transferring a state of an application between devices. In particular, and without limitation, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for transferring a state of an application between networked devices in response to gestural input.
Background Information
Today, increasingly sophisticated processing, media, and communications functionalities are incorporated into mobile devices, such as mobile telephones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and tablet computers. The increasing sophistication and capabilities of these mobile devices blur the boundaries that once separated mobile devices from sophisticated personal computing devices, and many users rely solely on such mobile devices to meet their computing needs.
However, these sophisticated mobile devices do not represent a standalone experience for many users. Instead, these mobile devices represent an essential element of an integrated computing experience through which a user may leverage conventional desktop and laptop personal computers with mobile devices to meet his or her computing needs.
The integration of these various devices into a seamless computing experience often presents practical challenges, especially when a user attempts to transition an application executing on a mobile device to a desktop computer, or alternatively, to transition an application executing on a desktop computer to a mobile device. For example, the user may initiate an instant messaging conversation on a mobile device, and may wish to continue the conversation on a computer when the user returns to the office. Further, a user may begin watching a movie on a desktop computer, and may wish to continue the viewing experience on a mobile device during his or her commute.
Transferring a session of an application from a mobile device to a desktop computer often requires the user to manually initiate an application session on the desktop computer to match the corresponding application session on the mobile device. For example, for an instant messaging application, the user may need to initiate the instant messaging client on the desktop computer, login into the instant messaging client on the desktop computer, and subsequently log out of the corresponding instant messaging client on the mobile device to ensure that pending conversations continue. In addition to inconveniencing the user and generating a perceptible discontinuity between the user's desktop and mobile devices, these transfer processes often result in a loss of essential session information, such as a conversation history associated with an instant messaging session.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems and methods for automatically and seamlessly transferring a state of an application between user devices in near-real time, where the transfer of state is achieved with minimal input and/or inconvenience to the user.